The Goblin Emperor

When this book was recommended to me, I'll admit I heard the title, sighed, and thought, "Man, I'm not really feeling the High Fantasy vibe right now." My reluctance grew deeper when I heard is was Steampunk as well as High Fantasy. But it came highly recommended, and by two people whose literary opinions I respect, so I tried to put aside my momentary prejudices and tucked in.

I'm so glad I did.

This book was as far from the typical High Fantasy novel as you can get, and the Steampunk element was just that: an element, rather than a driving force. In truth, it reminded me of the surprise and delight I felt when I first read [b:Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell|14201|Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell|Susanna Clarke|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1357027589s/14201.jpg|3921305], [a:Susanna Clarke|8842|Susanna Clarke|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1207159127p2/8842.jpg]'s singularly amazing novel, which was ostensibly about two magicians and the workings of magic in late 19th-century England, but was in fact so much more about the growth and struggles of men and women, with magic almost more a set dressing than a topic or plot device. The goblins and elves and magic in The Goblin Emperor are, while present and much discussed, utterly incidental to the real story, which is this: How does a decent man discover both that he IS decent, and that despite having no reasons to be, WANTS to be?

In this, the book also reminded me of the film The Others, with Nicole Kidman. That film was a turn-of-the-century ghost story, and yet despite the beautiful cinematography and costumes, it could have easily been filmed on a blank grey stage, because it relied utterly on the actors and their inner struggles, and had hardly a single noticeable special effect to distract the audience. This is The Goblin Emperor's strength, too; for all that the trappings of High Fantasy led me to expect sword fights and magic duels, this book could have taken place in modern New York or a near-future space station, or on a minimally-set stage. The setting was incidental, the characters were all.

Katherine Addison (or Sarah Monette to her friends, I'm sure) managed to write a fantasy novel about a young man's personal growth in a conservative culture, with hardly any of the expected tropes of the genre, and I loved it.

A comment I received on one my status updates for this book gave me the excellent advice to read the appendix on naming conventions before reading the book. I received this advice too late to do me any good, but if you are considering reading this book, I pass the advice on to you in the hopes that you may benefit from what I could not.

So, this is a book about a intermittently abused and neglected kid who suddenly finds himself emperor, and that his life is thereby much circumscribed and only a little improved.

It is also a book that will, when read in a lump, have you producing sentences like the previous.

I was going to say "This book will probably appeal to fans of [b:Melusine|492069|Melusine (Doctrine of Labyrinths, #1)|Sarah Monette|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388352167s/492069.jpg|2484], by [a:Sarah Monette|128570|Sarah Monette|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1416683160p2/128570.jpg]," but I just looked, and apparently Katherine Addison is Sarah Monette. So, I'm not sure what else to compare it to.

I heard raves for this book when it was published 4 months ago, but didn't get around to reading it until now. I loved it. Couldn't put it down. Unless I am very surprised (and delighted) by books over the next months, I will be nominating this for a Hugo.
It's kinda classic fantasy -- there are elves and goblins, an emperor, castles -- but it subverts a lot of the usual. There are no big battles. The ignored, youngest son who is thrust suddenly into the throne has to deal with the burden of being a king, including boring meetings, and not just with plots to overthrow him. In one of those plots, he's saved by the fact that he's treated people decently, rather than by wielding a magical sword.
The world building never seems heavy -- I didn't notice any info dumps. I absolutely ADORE the fact that people have ears that can be raised or flattened, and that's part of the body language the characters read, and struggle to keep "poker-faced".

This is an excellent book, completely unlike anything I've read before, and in the best possible way. It almost seems wrong to deem it 'fantasy', for surely a book with no human characters should be 'speculative fiction'? Regardless of its classification, I highly recommend it to anyone interested in well-written court politics, sympathetic characters, and a reading experience they won't get anywhere else.

Of all the things I would praise most about the book, I would have to consider its treatment of childhood abuse a huge and ambitious success. Too often, characters with abusive or traumatic backgrounds are treated in the most salacious and dramatic fashion possible. In this book, the main character's abusive past is treated with gentle respect, neither leering nor dramatic. The details are never focused on, and instead the most important thing is how it effected the abused character, and how they grow and heal. In this fashion, the entire book uses the metaphor of moving forward, growing past pettiness and cruelty, and-- most notably-- building bridges, to great effect.

The worldbuilding was similarly an ambitious success, though I found myself at times confused by the byzantine nature of naming conventions and pronunciation among the Goblins and Elves. I was pleased to find a guide at the back of the book explaining my confusion; I only wished I'd found it sooner, or that it had perhaps been at the beginning of the book. At times, all the unfamiliar Elvish and Goblin names bled together, and I would have appreciated knowing sooner that there was a guide. That said, the worldbuilding was still excellent and fascinating, even if I wished it was imparted in a fashion that didn't necessitate a guide quite so much.

If I had to seriously critique anything in the book, it would be how some of the female characters seemed underused. I understand that this is a function of the worldbuilding-- they are an oppressively sexist society-- but at the same time, the female characters were fascinating, and when they did appear, they shined. I was sad that altogether they only got a handful of scenes, and the subplots involving them and their struggles (in some cases, the collective struggle of all the female characters for more rights and freedoms) were very subtly and quietly dealt with. I would have liked to see them integrated more into the overall plot.

However, overall, I found the novel a tremendous success. I adored all of the characters, the quiet (but never slow) movement of the plot, and the subtle development of the protagonist and his relationships with others. It's a book I'll be rereading in the near future, because there's simply so much life and wonder crammed into it. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in high fantasy.

I was sent a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.